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Anyone from the Chicagoland area remember the Ray Raynor Show? It was a delightful show for children way back when, And it had valuable lessons.

My favorite memories are of his cooking a Thanksgiving turkey and when he showed craft projects for the kids. What made it so special? And hilarious? He always managed to mess up in some way. He would start off with a golden brown turkey or a pretty Mother’s Day craft. And whether it was trying to stuff the turkey upside down or adding too much glue to the craft project and ending up with a gooey mess, he entertained and gave good messages.

One might think at first glance “what is the lesson in that?”

He allowed children to be children. To let them know that it’s okay if something doesn’t come out just “perfect”. He got down to their level. It seemed to me to be a show for adults as well as the children.

What does that have to do with Red, White, and Blue Shortbread Cookies? Well, I thought of the Ray Raynor show several times while making the cookies. I just kept running into snags. They were delicious but the recipe didn’t exactly cooperate. Partly my fault.

It called for an 8×8 square glass pan. I didn’t have one so I increased the recipe by half again and put it in an 8×11 glass pan. The only real problem with that actually is the rounded corners. The cookies weren’t exactly squared off.

I was short 1/4C sugar so I added some Equal. That was no big deal.

They baked well. It took a little longer, of course, because of the change in pans and quantity of the dough, but that was okay too.

Then it came to the dipping the cookies in the chocolate and adding the sprinkles. It’s possible I bought the wrong chocolate, although none of the chocolate was listed as dipping chocolate. At any rate, I had a mess, I had chocolate dripping everywhere and so when I needed to add the sprinkles before the chocolate hardened, I ended up with sprinkles everywhere as well.

I had to chuckle and thought of Ray Raynor. Thank you Ray.

I have added a link to the original cookie recipe that I found on Pinterest. I do hope you will give them a try and learn from my mistakes. And if they don’t end up “perfect” give a smile and a nod to the Ray Raynor Show.

CAUTION! Maybe I should put a disclaimer here. This is by no means a dieting recipe. It is a good hearty meal that goes over well all year round.

Every time I have asked my son Chuck what he would like for his birthday he always says Chicken and Dumplings. And now it is passing down to my grandson.

This is a chicken meal I came up with years ago when trying to create a different (for me anyway) way to serve chicken. It remains to be one of the more economical meals to feed a family.

It’s funny, I didn’t realize how endearing this recipe is to me. I hesitated posting on it because I wasn’t sure I wanted to share it. But here we are!

Whereas in the beginning I would buy a whole chicken and cut it up myself, now I purchase breasts, legs, and a few thighs already cut up. These are the pieces that are the main favorites.

Now, unfortunately, the chicken needs to have the skin on. I have tried using skinless and boneless and it just isn’t the same. However, if you start out using boneless and skinless chicken your family may not notice the difference. The gravy will still get you in the calorie count though.

I trim off any excess fat that I can before frying the chicken. I fry it in a little vegetable oil until it is browned. Then I drain off any grease that I can.

The pan gets put back on the stove with medium heat and I add enough water until it reaches about a half inch from the top. I’m old fashioned in that I still use boullion cubes, adding 8-10 of them to the simmering chicken. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for a good 20 minutes, checking it to make sure it isn’t sticking and that the cubes are dissolving.

Also, at this time I add dry mustard. Now I know that may sound a little odd and I don’t remember what possessed me years ago to add it, but it works. It just punches up the flavor. I use a heaping tablespoon for a 12-14 inch pan’s worth. Salt and pepper also get added to taste. I also tend to add a little garlic powder here.

After checking the chicken for doneness I remove it and place it in a bowl nearby. Using a whisk, I stir the gravy to loosen anything stuck to the pan getting it ready to thicken. I use cornstarch but you can use whatever you like to create a good thick gravy. About a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch with a little water added to it first should thicken it properly. If not, repeat.

When it is good and thick add the chicken back to the pan, letting it simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring often.

It can be served from the stove or put in a large dish for the table.

The dumplings? Well, the recipe I use is one handed down to me from my childrens’ grandmother. She played an important role in my life. I would need to ask her family if it would be okay to broadcast her recipe. Any good dumpling recipe will work. Or mashed potatoes. Also, something that I have begun to use for another dish is frozen egg noodles. When cooked they taste similar to dumplings and are very much like homemade noodles.

This is an old apple cake recipe. Not a cake made from old apples, but a recipe that I have had for a very long time. Not really sure where I got it. I think it was some time around the time that I was a member of the West Chicago Mothers’ Club. I usually make it about once a year. It is not exactly a quick recipe but is so worth the time. It doesn’t take forever, it’s just that I am not a fan of peeling and chopping apples. But it is the thought of the results that make it worthwhile.

I am combining some bits of 2 posts. The first one is a project I am working on for an upcoming market show. This is just a before photo of some of the pieces that I am working on. I am focussing on small pieces of furniture for the market. Also I am having a carpenter friend make up some of the wooden cornices that I have worked on and paint them in a couple of different styles. This is going to be fun and I am especially looking forward to presenting the cornices. I will be posting about them off and on as the work progresses. Fun! Fun! Fun!

The second part is that of a cake I got from the blog onsuttonplace.com. It is Oatmeal Cake, and if you would like the recipe and to see more photos of it, I recommend visiting her blog for that. What I will tell you thought is that it is delicious and very easy to make. If you are like me in that you usually having oatmeal on hand then you most likely will have all of the ingredient in your cupboard already. The taste kind of reminds me of an apple cake that I make from time to time that is a bit time consuming. This is a nice alternative!

Summer is winding down around here. My grandson actually starts back to school next week already!

Want a quick and easy fajita recipe? I should mention delicious too! Then this is one for you! I don’t remember where I got this recipe from and I have made my own adjustments along the way, but it is definitely a keeper!

400 degree oven.
Place chicken strips in a greased 13×9 baking dish.
In a small bowl combine oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt. Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and stir to coat.

Slice peppers and onions and drain tomatoes. I was using things up so this time I used a half of yellow and orange pepper instead of the red and green. Also, you will notice in the picture that I used 2 kinds of onion, not necessary to do this.

Add the tomatoes, peppers, and onions to the mix and stir to combine.

Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
ENJOY!

Have a great weekend everyone!
Doris

P.S. I am thinking that tofu could be easily substitued for the chicken in this recipe. What do you think?

I am also thinking that they could work quite well in the homemade pitas that my niece makes. Yum!

A Father’s Day treat, one of my mother’s treats…….call it what you will, this quick and easy little coffee cake really hits the spot. One of the best things about it is that it uses ingredients that you most likely already have in your kitchen.

I follow the blog On Sutton Place. Ann Drake who writes it is quite an inspiration and she gave me permission to post one of her recipes. It is called Sour Cream Shortcake Bisquits. Not only is it delicious, it is quite delectable looking, and you probably have almost all of the ingredients on hand already. The only thing that you may need to purchase is sour cream.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder,baking soda. salt, and sugar.

Cut in the butter with a pastry blender. (or if you don’t have a pastry blender you can do as I did, cut it in by using 2 knives. Tha’s the old fashioned way).

Stir in the sour cream and milk.
It should look “shaggy” at this point.

Spread it out on a cookie sheet until it is one inch thick. Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, watching it closely near the end. You want the edges to be lightly browned.
Cool slightly.
Cut into bisquits. You may have a bisquit ciutter. I used a glass. You can also serve it rustic by just breaking it into bits. it tastes great no matter what!
Spread strawberries over a bisquit and serve!
You may want to add a dollop of whipped cream. Also, I add some sweetener to the strawberries after I cut them up and let them set a bit.